‘Brilliant, sardonic and extraordinarily moving.’
Helen Dunmore, The Times
‘It is quite unlike any other description of childhood—and there have been a great many outstanding ones…What is so striking is [Mantel’s]own remarkably sharp view of the world, the way she conjures the past back to life and above all the ability she has to convey the child’s half-understanding…She goes her remarkable way with warmth, wit and courage. This is a sad book, but it is also an enchanting one.’
Teresa Waugh, Literary Review
‘The economy and accuracy of Hilary Mantel’s writing is impressive…The book sparkles with her pungent accounts of people and events, and the swipes at those who have crossed her. It reads with such ease that you feel it must have sprung into life.’
Penelope Lively, Daily Mail
‘Memoirs of childhood are three a penny, memoirs of guilt-edged Catholic childhoods two a penny; but Hilary Mantel’s book, which is both of these, is extraordinary. She catches the very essence of the growing child, the small sharpeyed observer in the corner of the room who is herself ignored and not explained to…Ms Mantel is a jaunty, selfdeprecating companion, and her descriptions of the tiniest things are a constant joy.’
Economist
‘A work of rending bravery, immaculate poise and redemptive beauty.’
Scotland on Sunday
‘Underpinning all of Mantel’s writing are her powers of observation, which are acute almost to the point of being disturbing. They are beautifully complemented by her effortlessly elegant style…A remarkable memoir from a remarkable writer.’
Yorkshire Evening Post
‘Mantel has a sharp eye for the ridiculous and an elegant, direct style.’
Edwina Currie, Mail on Sunday